Thread by @18airbornecorps

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On this #WomensEqualityDay, let’s take a look back in order to look forward at all the work that remains for equality across the force.

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Operation Urgent Fury (1983): The US invasion of Grenada occurred before women served in combat roles. Long before female officers commanded Infantry companies.

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This was a different Army. One in which female troops were not viewed as equal warfighters by their peers or leaders.

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Five female Soldiers from the XVIII Airborne Corps’ 1118th Military Police Company (including this one, Kimberly Stroh) deployed to Grenada in early November 1983, after the initial invasion.

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These MP troops were to secure unit locations and oversee a detainee facility. They were called forward from Fort Bragg into theater. One of them was Specialist Elizabeth Milliken (pictured here in Grenada).

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The day they arrived, Major General Edward Trobaugh, the ground mission commander and the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, learned of the arrival of female soldiers and immediately directed their return to Fort Bragg.

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Trobaugh did not want female troops intermingling with male troops in a deployed environment.

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Elizabeth Milliken (pictured here) was humiliated and heartbroken on her long return flight back to Fort Bragg.

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The troops’ First Sergeant Carl Surom, who learned of the redeployment order the next day, was furious. He complained of the unfair treatment of his troops to anyone who would listen.

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Eventually, Carl Surom made contact with the XVIII Airborne Corps Deputy Commander, Major General (MG) Jack Farris, with whom he had served in previous assignments. “This is not how we treat American Soldiers,” Surom explained.

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In General Farris, Carl found a sympathetic ear. The women were back in Grenada the very next day. It was a blurring whirlwind of travel and emotional response for Elizabeth Millikin and her four peers.

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Still not satisfied, Carl Surom eventually briefed Congress on this issue. The incident became national news.

We caught up with Carl Surom, now retired, yesterday. He reflected on the account.

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“It wasn’t fair. I hope that would never happen today. Just this incident alone, in Grenada, back in ‘83 shows what a struggle [women] were having.”

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We also spoke today with Elizabeth Milliken, now a retired Chief Warrant Officer 3.

“I think the command didn’t know exactly what to do,” she said. “We were soldiers. We were there to perform our mission and that was what we were going to do.”

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Elizabeth continued: “The acknowledgment and acceptance of women’s skill set capabilities; has increased the Battlefield Commander’s inclusion of resources regarding readiness, planning, preparation and successful execution of combat missions.”

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Some 170 female Soldiers served in Operation Urgent Fury in 1983, in the first gender-integrated units the Army ever deployed.

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In 1987, due to growing pressure, the Army adjusted DCPC and opened thousands of positions to women, which allowed nearly 800 female Soldiers to serve in Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989.

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Captain Linda Bray (pictured here) was the first woman to lead US troops into battle with the 988th Military Police Company (this was in Just Cause in Panama)

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We have taken tremendous strides since the 1980s in our efforts to fully integrate the US Army for a more balanced and equal, professional military force. This progress is part of a continued effort to better ourselves.

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The women who choose to serve in our ranks continue to make the US Army a better, stronger, and more professional fighting force, and we would not be who we are without them. Please join us on this Women’s Equality Day, in honoring our sisters in arms.